Charlie's Blessings
by Shawntelli Coco
Summary: Edward is going with Bella to tell Charlie they're getting married. Charlie throws his small fit. Told from Edward's perspective.


I took Bella's hand as we waited for Charlie to come in. I could tell she wanted to hide it but I wouldn't let her. "Stop fidgeting, Bella. Please try to remember you're not confessing to a murder here." I said calmly. She sighed, "Easy for you to say." We fell silent listening to the sound of Charlie's footsteps coming noisily up the steps. The key rattled in the already open door. Bella squeezed my hand as hard as she could. "Calm down, Bella," I whispered, listening to the acceleration of her heart. The door slammed against the wall, and she flinched like she'd be shocked. "Hey, Charlie," I called, entirely relaxed. "No!" She protested under her breath. "What?" I whispered back. "Wait till he hangs his gun up!" I chuckled and ran my free hand through my tousled brown hair. Charlie came around the corner, still armed, and tried no to make a face when he spied us sitting together on the loveseat. Lately, he'd been putting forth a lot of effort to like me more. Bella sighed again. "Hey kids. What's up?" Charlie asked. I could tell Bella wasn't willing to talk so I jumped in. "We'd like to talk to you," I said smiling, "We have some good news." Charlie's expression went from strained friendliness to black suspicion in a second. "Good news?" Charlie growled, looking straight at Bella. She grimaced, "Have a seat, Dad." He raised an eyebrow, stared at her for five seconds, then stomped to the recliner and sat down on the very edge, his back ramrod straight. "Don't get worked up, Dad," Bella said after a moment of loaded silence. "Everything's okay." I grimaced, and she knew it was an objection to the word _okay_. I probably would have used something more like _wonderful _or _perfect _or _glorious._ Charlie chuckled, "Sure it is, Bella, sure it is. If everything is so great, then why are you sweating bullets?" She lied of course, "I'm not sweating." She leaned away from his fierce scowl, cringing into me, and instinctively wiped the back of her right hand across her forehead to remove the evidence. "You're pregnant!" Charlie exploded. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" Though the question was clearly meant for her, Charlie was glaring at me now, and I could have sworn I saw his hand twitch toward his gun. Bella shouted, "No! Of course I'm not!" I could tell she wanted to elbow me in the ribs, but I knew that move would only give her a bruise. She'd told me that people would immediately jump to that conclusion. What other possible reason would sane people have for getting married at eighteen? (Her answer had me roll my eyes. _Love_. Right.) Charlie's glower lightened a shade. It was usually pretty clear on Bella's face when she was telling the truth, and he believed her now. "Oh. Sorry." She scowled, "Apology accepted." There was a long pause. After a moment, she realized that we were both waiting for her to say something. She looked up at me, panic-stricken. There was no way she was going to get the words out. I smiled at her and then squared my shoulders and turned to her father. "Charlie, I realize that I've gone about this out of order. Traditionally, I should have asked you first. I mean no disrespect, but since Bella has already said yes and I don't want to diminish her choice in the matter, instead of asking you for her hand, I'm asking you for your blessing. We're getting married, Charlie. I love her more than anything in the world, more than my own life, and-by some miracle-she loves me that way, too. Will you give us your blessing?" I sounded sure and calm. For just an instant, listening to the absolute confidence in my voice, Bella experienced a rare moment of insight. She could see, fleetingly, the way the world looked up to me. For the length of one heartbeat, this news made perfect sense. And then she caught sight of the expression on Charlie's face, his eyes now locked on the ring. She held her breath while his skin changed colours-fair to red, red to purple, purple to blue. She started to get up-like she wasn't sure what she planned to do; maybe use the Heimlich manuever to make sure he wasn't choking-but I squeezed her hand and murmured, "Give him a minute" so low that only she could hear. The silence was much longer this time. Then, gradually, shade by shade, Charlie's colour returned to normal. His lips pursed, and his eyebrows furrowed; I recognized his "deep in though" expression. He studied the two of us for a long moment, and I relaxed substantially as I read his thoughts. "Guess I'm not surprised," Charlie grumbled. "Knew I'd have to deal with something like this soon enough." Bella exhaled. "You sure about this?" Charlie demanded, glaring at her. "I'm one hundred percent sure about Edward," sadness pierced my heart as I heard Bella tell him without missing a beat. "Getting married, though? What's the rush?" He eyed me suspiciously again. The rush was do to the face that she was getting closer to nineteen every day, while I stayed frozen in my "seventeen-year-old perfection" as I had for over ninety years. Not that this fact necessitated _marriage_ in my book, but the wedding was required due to the delicate and tangled Bella and I had made to finally get to this point, the brink of her transformation from mortal to immortal. These were things I knew Bella could never tell Charlie. "We're gong away to Dartmouth together in the fall, Charlie," I reminded him. "I'd like to that, well, the right way. It's how I was raised." I shrugged. I wasn't exaggerating; they'd been big on old-fashioned morals during World War 1. Charlie's mouth twisted to the side. Looking for an angle to argue from. But what could he say to Bella? _I'd prefer you live in sin first?_ He was a dad; his hands were tied. "Knew this was coming," he muttered to himself, frowning. Then, suddenly, his face went perfectly smooth and blank. "Dad?" Bella asked anxiously. She glance at me, but she couldn't read my face because I was trying to hard to hold in my laughter creating a strange expression on my face. "Ha!" Charlie exploded. Bella jumped in her seat. "Ha, ha, ha!" Bella stared incredulously as Charlie doubled over in laughter; his whole body shook with it. She looked over at me for a translation, but I had my lips pressed tightly together, I was still trying to hold back my laughter. "Okay, fine," Charlie choked out. "Get married." Another roll of laughter shook through him. "But…" "But what?" Bella demanded. "But _you_ have to tell your mom! I'm not saying one word to Renee! That's all yours!" He busted into loud guffaws. Bella paused with her hand on the doorknob, smiling. Sure, at the time, Charlie's words had terrified her. I could tell. The ultimate doom: telling Renee. Early marriage was higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies. Who could have foreseen her response? Not me. Certainly not Charlie. Maybe Alice, but I hadn't thought to ask her.


End file.
